The disclosures herein relate generally to automobile suspensions and more particularly to a torque arm apparatus and suspension system.
A rear suspension having a solid axle housing (also referred to herein as the axle housing) requires one or more members for controlling rotation of the axle. A solid axle housing is also often referred to as a live axle. Under acceleration and deceleration, forces are exerted on the solid axle housing that would cause the solid axle housing to rotate about its longitudinal axis.
In one suspension arrangement, the solid axle housing is mounted on a chassis via two control arms and a torque arm apparatus. The torque arm apparatus and the control arms mount between the solid axle housing and the chassis of a vehicle. The torque arm apparatus controls rotation of the solid axle housing. Effectively, the torque arm apparatus limits rotation of the solid axle housing about the longitudinal axis of the solid axle housing. Specifically, the torque arm apparatus permits the solid axle housing to rotate about a centerline axis of the torque arm apparatus and to translate about a curved reference axis jointly defined by the torque arm apparatus and the control arms.
A torque arm apparatus having a conventional construction suffers from one or more drawbacks. A torque arm apparatus having a conventional construction is referred to herein as a conventional torque arm apparatus. Conventional torque arm assemblies are offered by Griggs Racing and Global West. Examples of drawbacks associated with a conventional torque arm apparatus includes, but are not limited to, excessively reduced ground clearance, inability or limited ability to adjust the pinion angle, the centerline of the torque arm apparatus being offset from a vertical plane extending through the centerline of the solid axle housing and limited strength at one or more mounting points of the torque arm apparatus. These limitations reduce the effectiveness and versatility of a conventional torque arm apparatus.
Accordingly, a torque arm apparatus and/or suspension system capable of overcoming these drawbacks is useful.